First Roast efforts: How do you know if mediocre flavor is roastingtechnique or mediocre bean crop?

Third batch on my First Popcorn popper roast attempt- Lion's Gate Farms Kona green beans from their website- first crack at 3m30s, finished at 5m10s- first sound of second crack at 8m10s; immediately cooled beans- probably Full City roast- set aside 27 hours- ground beans in new Costco Capresso burr grinder; made 4 cups to taste it.

I'd describe the taste as mild and flat, unexciting, no bitterness.Wife said she detected an after-taste.

Q1: How do I know whether this disappointing experience is due to currentcrop quality or my popcorn popper roasting Inexperience?

Q2: Advice for me as a NEWBIE roaster?

Q3. Advice for roasting KONA coffee?

My PopperyII mods can be viewed here: popperyii.blogspot.com

It's been suggested I try to extend the time to first crack considerablyby modulating the heater coils power.

I bought a pound of Kauai Single Estate from a roaster not too long ago.It was a medium roast, and having just finished a pound of Columbian I roasted FC+, I felt like the Kauai was a letdown.It was very mild, slightly sweet, and pretty acidic. Not my favorite.

I asked the roaster if they had any beans from Hawaii roasted darker, and he told me that thats how Kauai should be roasted. Not sure about Kona, but im sure they have similar characteristics, and he roasted them medium.

I have had Lion's Gate several years and it is a good Kona. I would find an inexpensive, good Colombia, Guat, or Costa Rica and work over several pounds, learning the popper/roasting before jumping on a Kona.

Konas are low grown and need much less heat. Its character/nuances are going to be lost with an uncontrolled heat application.

Kona needs to rest like most others, a good rest is at east 72 hours, by day 5 it will be great. Like others say it is a low and slow bean. It should not have any after taste, and will not be bitter. You really need to have some true Kona before roasting to know the mark. It is sometimes best to have the grower send you a half pound of their roasted coffee to understand what you looking for. Maui coffee is not Kona, dont compare. Kaanapali grown coffe is the only Maui coffe to compare to Kona, and when done right is better IMHO.Kona is a soft light and creamy taste.

I roasted some koa plantation extra fancy kona today. total roast time was 15 min. first crack was about 8 min, and I stopped the roast at very first sign of second crack at about 15 min. it looks to me like it turned out perfect.

He mentioned Kauai, not Maui. I have never had a decent roast from Kauai. The coffees last year from Maui Grown Green Coffee (Kannapali) http://www.mauigrowngreencoffee.com/ were excellent. Hawaiian coffees are all different and each has its own merits:

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